The Early Life of Smolderdash
by Tabbyluna
Summary: Some people are born great, but other have greatness thrust upon them. And others develop their greatness through their collective life experiences.
1. Smolderdash's Past

The moon and the sun touched the day she was born. For her entire birth, the island was shrouded in darkness as an eclipse took place from above. Those two celestial beings together, according to the legends and superstitions, were supposed to be a period of bad luck. And anything which starts during such a period would be doomed to failure. Any child born during that time was to be a harbinger of misfortune, and so when a woman had a child born during an eclipse, the child would have to be killed almost immediately after. Although most abided by the practice gladly, there was a handful who agreed that such a practice was barbaric.

Her mother cried when she was born. Screaming and wailing louder than her own daughter did. Her father tried to calm her down, but she did not even want to see the face of her child. She had insisted on killing her. Killing her own child before this newborn baby could curse the family with misfortune. Her father though, wanted her to live. He was not brought up to be superstitious, and he had wanted to take a stand against such a practice. So the young couple argued, the nurses trying and failing to separate them.

They had only stopped when her grandmother came in. She had wanted to see her first grandchild, and nothing, not even an eclipse, could stop her from doing so. When she entered the room, all fighting ceased, and all eyes turned to face her with surprise. No one would have expected such a small, elderly woman to brave an eclipse to visit. Even the bravest warriors in the village hid indoors during eclipses.

She crossed the room, and gently placed her hand on her son's shoulder. He had been fighting and arguing, she could read it on his face. Softly, she told him to cool himself down. Just as gently, she faced her daughter-in-law and tightly held her hands. As if she were a telepath, the young mother understood that the older woman was telling her not to worry. And her grandmother did not even have to say a word to her.

With the room quietened down, she turned her attention to the final relative in need of her attention, her new granddaughter. Still crying, still stressed from the earlier chaos, her grandmother gently picked her up and cooed at her. Wrapped in swaddling cloth, she looked incredibly tiny and helpless in her arms. But when her grandmother first looked into her eyes, she smiled. "My granddaughter has the eyes of a fighter. She will someday be a warrior, the greatest this village has ever known. As such, we shall name her Smolderdash, after the greatest warrior in our family's lineage."

She then passed her to her son, and tenderly kissed the newly christened Smolderdash's forehead. "You better keep her around. I believe that she has the most beautiful eyes out of anyone in our family."

There were many traditions in the village, most of them born out of superstition and mistrust. But one of the most important was that a grandmother's word must always be obeyed, no matter what. Grandmothers were important and powerful in that village. So when she insisted on her granddaughter living, she had truly saved her life right then and there. And so from then on, Smolderdash's life had truly begun.

She spent the next few years sheltered, living inside the tiny house her parents owned. Father wanted to shelter her from the world, Mother wanted to shelter the world from her. The only person who brought her out was Grandma. At the end of every week, Grandma would make the trip to the family's house in a long skirt and a big, fireproof hat. Then she would tell her son and her daughter-in-law to relax. And with Smolderdash's tiny hand holding hers, they would take a long walk around the village, all while they talked to each other.

Sometimes, Smolderdash would ask questions, and Grandma would answer them to the best of her ability. Other times, Smolderdash would request for a story. And Grandma had a lot of stories to tell. Some of them fictional, stories she had heard from her parents growing up, or that she had read. And other were real stories. About her relatives, her ancestors, and sometimes even about Grandma herself.

One story stuck out in Smolderdash's mind. After all these years, she still remembered that story. And it was about how Grandma got her hats.

Due to the town being made up of beings of fire, hats were an item rarely worn. But Grandma wore hats anyways. She never really cared for trends. If she wanted to wear a hat, she would get one, by hook or by crook. It had been expensive to get one, but after much scrimping and pitching and searching, she finally found a hatter who was willing to make some custom ones for her.

"I could only offer him just a little bit of money, but when he saw me, he offered to make ten hats for me free of charge." She grinned at the memory. Smolderdash loved to see her Grandma grin like that. She had the brightest smile she had ever seen, and it never failed to make her feel comforted. "I later found out that the man was actually in love with me."

There were many things considered bad luck in the village. One of them being mixed-race couples. No one really knows how most of the superstitions started, but most people who believe in them don't really care about their origins. But that hatter, who was a mabu, had fallen in love with her. For she had been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. And over time, as they bonded over a mutual love of hats and classic literature, she fell in love with him too.

"That was when I first really started questioning the superstitions that this town upholds." She bought Smolderdash some chocolate-covered waffles from a truck selling desserts, and they continued their walk through town. "I knew that our love was innocent. It was pure, and there was not a bad thing about it. But not everyone agreed." And soon, after he finished making all her hats, he had to leave. If anyone she knew was to find out about their love, they would treat her as a pariah. She would be disowned by her family. Her life would be ruined.

And so, he decided to exit her life. During one Summer's midnight, they met each other one last time. There, they dance under the full moon, singing sweet songs together, and after a final kiss, he picked up his bags and left the town.

They never saw each other ever again.

"I still remember his smile, his voice. Whenever I put on one of these hats," she took a moment to adjust the one sitting on her head, "I still feel his presence."

A few years later, she met her husband, and they had her Father. Even though Smolderdash's Grandfather had been a meek, superstitious man, their small family still managed to survive and thrive because Grandma had been a fearless woman. Bold, educated, and talented in the art of business, she made her living selling lunches to office workers. With her husband as a homemaker, and her son being a bright student, they were all happy. Fulfilling roles which they felt comfortable fulfilling.

Grandma taught her about all sorts of cultures. Cultures where men are considered superior, cultures where women are considered superior. And cultures, such as theirs, where men, women, and anyone in-between are considered equals. "Our culture is such a culture. We would be a perfectly equal society too, if it weren't for those damn superstitions."

Grandma made sure to teach Father that the superstitions were based on shoddy logic. During the years before she got married, Grandma did a bit more travelling. She had worked tons of extra shifts so that she could afford hot-air-balloon rides and books, but all that was for the sake of learning more about Skylands. And how the rest of Skylands was like compared to their tiny village.

"In my travels, I learned that many of the things our village considers to be bad luck are not considered such outside of it." She smiled and sighed. "There were quite a few mixed couples, even though those still are not the norm. Although most are not able to conceive children together, some are. And they make the most uniquely beautiful children I have ever seen." The soft grin remained on her face while she reminisced on the past. Back then, Smolderdash thought that she must have had the time of her life traveling around Skylands.

"So, Grandma," she asked, a naturally curious young girl. "Why did you decide to come back to the village, instead of leaving?"

Grandma stopped walking when she asked her that question. Smolderdash wondered if she should have said that? Looking up at Grandma's face, she seemed like she was deep in thought. As if trying to figure out how she should explain something to a girl like her. Smolderdash worried that she would brush her question aside with a "I'll tell you when you're older", like her Mother and Father do. But to her relief, Grandma did not say anything like that. And after a bit of thinking she managed to find the right words for her answer.

"It was tempting to do that," she admitted, beginning to walk again. Sensing the movement, Smolderdash followed right beside her. "But I think the reason I didn't was because I figured that I could make a positive impact on more lives if I stayed. People who are considered unlucky are always in need of a lot of help, whether they need some food to eat, a place to sleep, I've even hired some to work as assistants in my business before."

And after she said her speech, she kneeled down to kiss her granddaughter on the cheek. "But right now, you do not have to worry about that. Go on and continue to enjoy your waffles."

And so she did. Smolderdash finished her waffles, and they continued their walk around town. Until Smolderdash got too tired to continue walking. Then, Grandma picked her up, and carried her all the way back home, safe and sound.

Eventually, it became mandatory that Smolderdash start school, for she had arrived at the proper legal age for that. There were a few months where her parents attempted to homeschool her, but because both her Father and her Mother needed to work to make ends meet, Grandma could finally convince them to allow their daughter to go to school. So reluctantly, listening to Grandma's advice, she was enrolled in a local public school.

Most of the kids there had started school a few months prior, so Smolderdash was truly the new girl there. But for a while, things were alright for her. At first, most of the children were fairly welcoming. And every day after school Grandma would come to pick her up. Life was good. Smolderdash liked school. She was adjusting to life as a normal girl quite well.

But one time, Grandma was not feeling well, so over the weekend there were plans made for Mother to go pick her up instead. Mother arrived about an hour earlier, and so she had time to talk to the other children about her daughter. And in the middle of the conversation, she told them that her daughter had been an eclipse baby.

That changed everything.

After that, her classmates' parents told them that they did not want them to mix with the 'unlucky one'. Some went further, and told them about superstitions and rumours. Spinning tales about why children like her should be feared, rejected, and kept far away from the 'normal' ones like them. And like sponges, her classmates absorbed those tales and stories without a question.

It made school hell for Smolderdash afterwards. She was made to play alone, because no one wanted anything to do with her. Anytime she sat down to eat lunch, the people seated closest to her would move away. Some would inch away from her, while others would move away to a completely different table entirely. And if she ever got too close to a group of kids, they would either move away from her, or they would yell at her to keep away from them. Everyday, when she walked home with Grandma, she would tell her that she did not want to return. "The others aren't very nice to me."

Grandma reported the matter to the school board. The teachers said that they needed to discuss the matter with Smolderdash's primary guardians, her parents. So Grandma went home that day, hoping that the issue would be resolved soon.

But the teachers never did a thing.

Kids in kindergartens tend to speak about whatever it is on their minds, and when you become a teacher, you learn how to listen to children. After a few weeks of eavesdropping while supervising the children, the entire faculty of that tiny public school knew that Smolderdash was an eclipse child. One who had somehow managed to survive to schooling age. It was a common discussion topic among the teachers. How could something that seemed so innocent, so harmless, be bad luck? It did not make sense upon first glance. For a while a few teachers even questioned their views on the common superstitions in their town.

But at the end of the day, it was only for a short while. Tradition was tradition, they reasoned. Their elders must have had a point, a purpose for wanting their traditions to be preserved. Who knows what kind of trouble she might bring. They just need to keep a closer eye on her. Besides, if word got out that they helped a girl like her, it could serve to damage the school's reputation. They were known to be a good school. A great school, in fact. And doing something so abnormal would not be looked at positively at all.

So after a meeting, the faculty decided that it would be best if they did not intervene.

And so for the next year or so, Smolderdash continued to be rejected by her peers. Everyday after school, she would vent about the day's events to her Grandma. But no matter how many stern talking-tos and phone calls Grandma gave to the school, nothing was done to better her situation.

The next year, a new student joined the school. He was a small boy. With a round, ruddy face and a bracelet around his ankle. According to the Head Teacher, the boy had been to a few schools, and his parents are hoping to have him get settled there. He was pretty quiet those first few days when he was with them. For a while, Smolderdash kept her distance away from him. She had learned to get used to playing by herself, and so a kid like that did not really interest her.

But then he began to follow her around that day. He stood by her, watching her play with broken dolls and leftover building blocks, and he would ask her what she was doing. And when he got an answer, he asked if he could join in.

No kid had asked her to play in such a long time, so his question took her by surprise. Stuttering, she told him "Sure." And immediately after she did so, he pushed her out of the way and knocked her tower down.

Smolderdash wanted to cry then. Or scream for help. But even then she knew that it would be of no use. She knew that the teachers did not care for her, and the other kids couldn't care less about her well-being. So she sat herself alone in the corner, watching as the new child continued to wreck her town. Blinking back tears and biting her lip, trying to stay tough. Strong, like the warriors and heroes her Grandma always taught her about.

When Grandma picked her up later that day, she did not tell her about the new boy.

He continued to spend time with her. Constantly hanging around her, even when she told him that she wanted time alone. Whenever she told him that, he would pinch her, refusing to let go until she agreed to let him play with her. He would step on her foot if she was standing up. If she was seated on the floor, he would step on her fingers. And all the while, Smolderdash refused to tell anyone. She knew she could not cry or run to anyone. In a time where she should have been safe and happy, she instead constantly felt fear whenever she entered the school.

That boy was the only child who even bothered to look at her during playtime. This went on for weeks.

One day, instead of the regularly scheduled playtime, the teachers gathered all the children in her level together. They were all made to sit together in the school hall. When Smolderdash's class filed into the place, in two neat rows, she noticed a woman standing beside the boy. Crying, and holding the boy's hand. As she sat down, careful to not accidentally touch her classmates (one of them once hissed at her for accidentally brushing her leg against hers), she wondered who she could be.

The Head Teacher came onto the stage. "Today, we are going to talk about his behaviour," she said. And immediately, Smolderdash sat up straighter.

Would justice finally be served? She eagerly watched on, attentively listening to the way her Head Teacher described him. Using words like "bully" and "mean". Talking about calls and reports from parents and guardians. "We will be having some of his victims come up here to talk about what he did to them."

She heard the name of one of her classmates get called up. A small boy gingerly walked up the stage, and was handed a microphone to talk into. He told all the teachers and children in her grade about how their new classmate had bitten him once during an art class. After he said his piece, he was thanked by the Head Teacher, and a new student was called up.

It was another girl. Not Smolderdash, but Smolderdash was still hopeful that she would be called up eventually. The girl talked about how the new kid punched her in the stomach. And once she said that, she was thanked and allowed to go down. But at that point in time, Smolderdash was too excited to feel sorry for everyone else. Finally, she could speak out. The opportunity was right in front of her. It felt like karma was finally on her side.

There were several more students called up. None of them Smolderdash. Though she waited, and waited, jogging her leg in anticipation, not a single name called up was hers. Until finally,the head teacher dismissed the level, and turned to talk to the crying woman holding the new boy's hand.

As she left the hall, she realised that even though she was sad, upset, and completely disappointed, she was not surprised in the slightest. With the life she had led, she had gotten used to unfair treatment. But on the way out, she caught an exchange between two of her teachers.

The first had her hands full of files, and sighed, shaking her head. "And it should have been obvious too. He didn't have any friends as far as I know."

"Well, that's not true. He did spend time with Smolderdash a lot," said the second one. And that line hit her like a punch to the stomach.

They thought that she was his friend?

Smolderdash did not know what to say.

She did not talk to Grandma on the way home. When she made it back, she locked herself in her room until it was time for dinner. And all that time she spent by herself, consoling herself with a stuffed animal while she waited for her parents to come home, she was processing a lesson she had learned that day: Some days, she will be the only person she's got.


	2. Smolderdash's Gifts

Smolderdash's early childhood was one full of bullying and rejection. Most of the adults in her life could not be trusted. However, despite all the adults who could not be trusted. All the parents who were too afraid for her; all the teachers who did not give two hoots about her. There was one woman, one grown adult who she knew that she could always rely on. And that person was her Grandma.

As Smolderdash began moving up in school, she was beginning to have problems keeping up with the work. The teachers, being superstitious types, did not want to invest too much time in her. Secretly, a lot of them were hoping that she would drop out. And they figured their apathy would be the best way to accomplish that.

But fortunately, Grandma noticed Smolderdash while she was struggling in school. One afternoon, she caught her crying over a few math problems, and so she pulled up a chair beside her. Placing a hand on her, she rubbed her back. The circular motion comforting Smolderdash while she dried her eyes.

"No grandchild of mine is going to cry over something like a math problem," she said softly but stubbornly. "Now, come here. Let's see how I can help you with this. Which parts are you having problems with?"

And so she picked up a pencil, took a nearby notebook, and began to explain the confusing concepts to her. It took a while, but after a few diagrams, a bit of patience, and half a dozen cookies, Smolderdash finally understood fractions. Thanks to Grandma's help, she finished the rest of the questions in fifteen minutes. When she handed up her work the next day, the teachers had no choice but to give her an A.

When Smolderdash first received her work back, she couldn't help but kiss the paper.

Grandma was extremely proud of her when she showed the paper to her. "Well done, Smolderdash!" She grinned, pinning her work up on the fridge. Then she asked if she had any more homework, and Smolderdash answered that question by pulling out three worksheets her teachers had given the class. So for the rest of the afternoon, Grandma sat beside her, helping her with any concepts she was having trouble understanding. And Smolderdash paid attention, attentively listening to when her Grandma had to say.

"If I were healthier, I would probably pull you out of school and homeschool you myself," admitted Grandma, handing Smolderdash a hard candy for finishing a page of spelling practice. "They aren't treating you right in that school. It's very clear that they don't care about how well you're doing in any area. But sadly, I think this will have to be the best we can do for now."

Smolderdash wrote her name on a new sheet of paper, and ate the hard candy. Cherry flavoured, one of her favourites. "That's okay. I'm doing okay in school now. Now that we're doing this." She smiled, and continued doing her spelling practice. She was determined to ace the next big test, just to show that she could to her classmates and teachers.

The kid who bullied a good chunk of her classmates and her had gotten expelled. So for the most part people tended to leave her alone at school. Teachers barely paid any attention to her, preferring to focus on her other classmates instead. In all honesty, she would have preferred to be homeschooled. When the only teacher in your life who cares about you was a relative, one would tend to prefer the relative. Sure, there were some concepts which she found difficult to explain, but when she had problems they would simply head to the local library together and read up about the topic. "That way, we both learn," Grandma would say. "Learning doesn't stop once you finish school, you know."

Grandma was good at Mathematics, okay at the physical sciences, and frequently borrowed books about the life sciences for Smolderdash to self-study. Smolderdash was fairly strong in the language arts, the humanities, and the life sciences. So their strengths managed to compensate for their weaknesses. After she was finished with her homework and revision, Smolderdash would always spend the rest of the day reading a book from Grandma's vast library. Tucked away in a corner, a cup of hot chocolate beside her while Grandma prepared dinner, it was the most comforting part of her day.

Sometimes she would pick up an old children's book about fairy tales. Stories about heroes who were both lovers and fighters. Other times, she would read a history book. Reading up about all the various events that had happened in the town, as well as the largest, most significant events that have ever happened in Skylands. And other times, she would read up on other cultures in Skylands. There were dozens of travel diaries in Grandma's library, both by her and other famous authors. And whenever she opened one of those books up, she would always be transported to another island. Another place in Skylands, so similar yet so different from life in her town. And seated there, on the tiled floor of Grandma's house, she swore to herself that she would someday visit those places.

The older she got, the more work she was given. There were more tests and exams, and they all had greater stakes than mere spelling tests. "These exams would determine which classes you take next year," explained the teacher, with only half the class truly listening. This was a big test, and most of them had already heard of it. How could they forget about it? When they were already being groomed by their parents to take it. Sending them to extra classes, hiring tutors, assigning them extra work to revise. Their parents cared more about that test than they did.

"Now, I expect that most of you would be entering the Advanced Classes. But some of you would also be taking the Normal Classes."

With a name like 'Advanced Classes', one would expect that they would be reserved for the brightest of the bunch. Quite the contrary, actually. 'Advanced Classes' were considered the standard classes in that town. A majority of students were expected to make it there. To the point where they should have been called the 'Normal Classes' instead. In actuality, being a Normal student was considered shameful. If your child was going to be put in the Normal Classes, common reactions from parents would be tears, angry phone calls to the school, and lashing out and scolding the child.

The actual Normal Classes were not bad classes, per se. But it was obvious that less care and resources were put into them, compared to the Advance Classes. While Advanced students got three field trips a year, got benefits for their extra-curricular activities, and have top tier teachers teaching the classes, Normal students got one field trip, no benefits, and the teachers can range from 'fairly decent' to 'complete unreasonable monster'.

"Now, even though some of you may enter the Normal Classes..." She looked at Smolderdash while she talked. "It is not a bad thing. In fact, all sorts of people are needed to run a society."

The rest of the class nodded, agreeing with her statement about how different kinds of people were needed. But Smolderdash merely kept quiet. The tone the teacher used did not feel comforting in the slightest. It almost felt like a jab at her specifically. "All sorts of people are needed to run a society," she had said. What she did not say, was that a society usually included scapegoats, losers, and other types of people that the 'normal' use in ways which only benefit themselves.

If felt incredibly lonely, knowing that she probably needed to take on this daunting task by herself. Especially since at that point in time, she knew that Grandma's health was waning.

Grandma tried to keep it a secret, but Smolderdash had two sharp eyes and a mind tailored towards street-smarts. She could see the way her Grandma heaved and sighed getting up in the morning. Hear the sighs and lack of singing during the day, when she was doing the chores. Their dinners were becoming increasingly simple too. They ate high effort meals like roast beef less frequently, and meals like porridge and soup more often.

She couldn't let grandma help her so much. At her young age, she figured that she needed to rely on herself for a change.

When she went home, she immediately started working on her homework with Grandma. After that was done, and Grandma went off to prepare dinner, she started studying. And she did not stop, not even to take a break, until it was dinner time and Grandma insisted that she go and eat something. Once dinner was over, she helped Grandma wash the dishes. Then they would walk back together to her parent's house, just like they did every night. From there, Smolderdash would keep studying from her textbooks until it was time for her to go to bed. The next day, she would head to school, and the cycle would repeat itself again.

Even when she felt restless, and had a yearning to go outside and have fun, she refused to let herself go out and do just that. She took a scarf from Grandma's room and tied herself to the chair. At home, she made herself drink coffee late at night. Swallowing the bitter substance so that she could study even more. Nothing could distract her from her goal of making it to the Advanced Classes.

Everyday she woke up feeling stressed out and frightened. She was nervous, and everything she did, she did because of this obsession with getting into the Advanced Classes. No one could dictate her destiny but her. She read that once in a book, and she had fallen in love with that phrase when she did. When she first started studying for the exams, she had written that quote down onto a piece of paper, and stuck it onto the ceiling with some sticky tape she found in her cupboard. It was intended to motivate her. To make sure that the first thought in her mind whenever she woke up was to succeed. But even though she was still hungry to succeed, she hardly felt good about it. Not in the slightest bit.

One day, she came back home to Grandma's house, and went to the study to do homework and revise. The same thing she did everyday. But that was the day where Smolderdash's daily routine ended. Because during that particular day, Grandma had to wake her up from a nap.

She had fallen asleep after writing down her name on her homework. Smolderdash peered over Grandma's shoulder, and looked at the window. Judging from the smokey blue sky outside, it was already evening. Grandma had made dinner, and she headed into the room because Smolderdash had not responded to her calling her to eat. "I even made your favourite curry stew. It was a surprise to say the least. I thought you would run into the kitchen, excited to get a hot bowl."

At that point, Smolderdash couldn't help but break down. She ran into her Grandma's open arms, tears streaming down her face. It had been years since she had openly cried in front of someone. Most days, she tried to put on the toughest front a preteen girl like her could muster. But in the privacy of her Grandma's house, after weeks of stress and exhaustion had finally caught up with her, she could finally let out all the negative feelings that had been clouding her mind and heart.

Grandma did not say a word as she let it all out. Calmly, she wrapped her arms around her granddaughter. Patting her back, without rushing for her to dry her eyes or do anything other than experience some much needed catharsis.

"I just want to do well in school," she said. "No one else thinks I can do it. I want to prove to everyone that I could." Her voice was weak and quiet, as if she could not find the strength to speak louder. Grandma merely wrapped her tighter in her arms, providing her with a warmth and comfort that she had not received in a long time.

"Shh, it's okay. I think it's good for you to have ambitions, but please remember that you also need to look after yourself. There's no point in proving people wrong if you're too tired to do so now, is there?" She asked. But in a way which was gentle and supportive, instead of condescending. Smolderdash always found it incredible how Grandma never sounded condescending, ever. She wished that she could someday talk like that.

"How about now, you wash yourself up and get some dinner? There's no school tomorrow, so you can just spend the rest of the evening resting. We can work out some sort of schedule the next day too, and maybe include a time for you to rest and relax after school."

Smolderdash nodded. That sounded like a good plan. "Can I sleep over here tonight too?" She liked sleeping over at Grandma's place. Even though she technically lived with her parents at their house, Grandma's house was her true home.

Grandma nodded. Rubbing Smolderdash's back in small circles. A gesture of affection which had started since she was a baby, and has continued on to that day. "Of course. I'll call your parents to let them know."

And after washing herself up, eating a meal, and a good night's sleep, Smolderdash found herself feeling much better.

The next day, they planned out a schedule. The first thing Smolderdash would do upon returning home from school was take a small, fifteen-minute break. Afterwards, she would get started on her homework. For most days, that usually takes her a couple of hours. But some days she may need more time, so they decided that the schedule shouldn't be too strictly adhered to. After homework, she would go out and exercise for a bit. "It's good for you, getting some sunlight and keeping active. It is also a great way to manage stress, and I think you're naturally more inclined towards an active lifestyle." She smiled, and Smolderdash nodded.

After exercise, she would do some revision. Fifteen minutes for each subject. "It doesn't sound like a lot, but it will build up. It's a much better strategy than cramming at least." Then after her studies are over, it should be time for dinner. And afterwards, she can spend the rest of the evening doing whatever she pleases.

Smolderdash followed that schedule as diligently and faithfully as she could. Now that she had a plan, she felt far less uncertain about things. There was a strategy now, a strategy on how to succeed academically.

Slowly, she continued to grow. In terms of her academics, and in terms of her discipline. She grew smarter, stronger, and much more confident every day. And by the time exam season rolled around, when all her classmates were busy cramming and doing last-minute preparations before the examinations, she was prepared and confident in herself.

She aced her exams easily.

The people in charge of assigning students to their new classes had no idea that she was an eclipse baby. And by the time they found out, it was too late. The classes had been assigned, all the students were busy enjoying the last days of their school holidays, and they could not just reassign classes at the last minute just for her. She had successfully made it to the Advanced Classes, and she spent her holidays together with Grandma, celebrating her sweet victory.

The two of them sat outside one evening, admiring the sunset and eating sandwiches for dinner. It was a calm, quiet evening. One where there was nothing important for either of them to do, so they took that time to relax and enjoy each other's company. Smolderdash convinced Grandma to tell more stories about her adventures in her youth, and Grandma took the time to ask Smolderdash what she wanted to do when she grew up.

"I know that when you were younger, you wanted to be a dancer," she chuckled, recalling her granddaughter's antics as a toddler. "But I think your ambitions must have changed. So tell me, what do you see yourself doing in the future?"

Smolderdash nibbled her sandwich, a hand supporting her face as she pondered over Grandma's question. "Hmm, I'm not sure honestly. I think I might want to become a security guard of some sort. That sort of work, I don't mind doing. Plus, other people in this town wouldn't mind if I became one."

Grandma nodded, and reached out to hold her hand. Giving it a squeeze, she carefully thought of her next question. It was a rather sensitive subject for her, the circumstances of her birth. She needed to handle this with tact. And fortunately, after years of practice, she knew exactly how to talk to her.

"Well, just asking as a hypothetical, but what would you like to be if people in this town would let you?"

Smolderdash had to stop and think for a moment. Because she did have a lot to think about with that question. It was unfair, how the 'cursed' and 'unlucky' in this town were never allowed to shoot for the stars the same way everyone else was encouraged to. She knew that Grandma did not want her to internalise their comments and judgements too much. But at the same time, she was a little unsure about how to do anything with what little she had now. Her family was not rich, they did not have any political influence. And in terms of community support, she only trusted one person completely. While she would love to shoot for the stars, just like Grandma kept encouraging her too, she wished that it was easier for her to do so.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. It's sort of like giving someone a million dollars and asking them how they wanted to spend it all. There's just so many possibilities, and I'm going to need a long time to truly think about the best way to use this." She nibbled her sandwich's crust, a habit which she had picked up ever since she was young.

Grandma merely nodded. "That's a rather wise answer. I think that makes sense, and I suppose you do deserve some time to think about what you want out of life." She got up, picking up the empty plate. "You're still young, so you've got plenty of time. Just remember, no matter what you want to do, as long as it hurts no one, I will always be right behind you cheering you on."

Smolderdash smiled. She knew that her Grandma would go through Hell seven times over just for her sake. It was a fact she just knew, an inherent truth about both of their existences. But it was still nice to hear her say it. Every time she did, it did make her feel all warm inside. Well, she did always feel warm, being a being made of fire and all, but warm in a comforting, fuzzy way. It felt... good, great even. Comforting, like there was someplace where she could always say she belonged. Someone who she could always rely on and trust. Someone who she could call family.

**Remember when I was working on my O-Levels? I do, and some of the stuff Smolderdash did was stuff I did while studying for my exams.**

**-Tabbyluna**


	3. Smolderdash's Future

For a good chunk of her childhood, the only person Smolderdash could truly count on consistently, for any problem and any issue she had in her life, was her Grandma. She was the one who picked her up after school. Who helped her with her studies and homework. Who encouraged her to both work hard and play hard. Who provided her with a trustworthy adult to talk to about anything.

When she talked to her Mom about her problems, she would never actively listen or try to help her think of a solution. If she talked to her Dad, he would use whatever problems she had as another excuse to keep her home and homeschool her in isolation away from the rest of society. Neither of them responded to her issues in a way which made her particularly satisfied, so for the most part, she brought her cares and woes to Grandma, and after she listened to her and comforted her, she would help to try and think of a solution to her problems.

Of course, as all things do, things soon changed.

Soon, Grandma began falling ill increasingly often. She found it harder to see, harder to do activities like cooking and cleaning. Being a teenager, she was old enough to help and chip in. Her food was not as good as what Grandma used to cook, and she still had to juggle her schoolwork, chores, and working out, but Grandma appreciated the effort she was putting into helping her.

"Well, you've done nothing but help me for my entire life Grandma. This is the least that I can do now." Smolderdash stirred the porridge in the pot. Even though it was far from being her favourite food, she did find the preparation of porridge to be a relaxing act. Especially at the end of a busy week of school. At that moment of time, the only thing she had on her mind was chatting with her Grandma, and stirring a pot full of assorted contents. It was calming, to say the least.

"Oh, don't worry about thinking you need to pay off some sort of debt. You deserve to have adults in your life who would care and support you unconditionally." She licked her upper lip, then walked over to the kitchen counter to get her medicine. According to the doctor, she was to have one blue pill before every meal, and one green pill after. While Smolderdash had to remind her to take her medicine from time to time, for the most part Grandma was capable of remembering when to take it herself.

"In any case, I do like helping you Grandma."

"I know you do, and I really do appreciate it, Dearest," she said, shaking out a blue pill from the bottle into her hand. "But, I would like to discuss something with you."

With one final stir, Smolderdash tasted the porridge to make sure that it had cooked properly. It tasted fine enough, so she began to serve up their dinner in two ceramic bowls. "Sure thing Grandma. Fire away."

"Well, where do I begin… Thank you dear," she said when Smolderdash placed her bowl and spoon in front of her. "Remember Kiln from the market?"

Smolderdash nodded, a spoonful of porridge already shoved in her mouth.

"Well, you've heard about how her son and his wife left the town in order to expand the family's pottery business. So far, at least according to Kiln, they'd been extremely successful at Merchant's Peak." Smolderdash nodded, then swallowed her porridge.

"They also have an oldest son that's ten years older than me, right?" She asked, stirring her porridge around with her spoon.

Grandma nodded. "Yes, they do. Actually, I was just about to get to him." She cleared her throat, placed her spoon down, and faced Smolderdash with a gentle smile. "So, he's got no talent in pot making. All his younger siblings are better at it than he is. And in terms of running a business, running the store itself, he says that it's not something he wants to do for life."

"So in short, he doesn't want anything to do with the family business," said Smolderdash, scooping up another spoonful of porridge.

"In essence, yes."

"Right then. So what's he going to do with his life?"

"That's where we come in. You see, even though he's not comfortable being a businessman, and he can't make a good pot to save his life, he does have other talents elsewhere. They may not seem like the greatest of talents to everyone, but he's a hard worker, he's honest and kind-hearted. And as for marketable skills, he's both an excellent cook and cleaner," Grandma popped another spoonful of porridge into her mouth.

Smolderdash nodded. "So…"

"So I have struck an agreement with Kiln and her family, and he will be staying at my house as a live-in housekeeper for fifteen emeralds a month," Grandma said, scooping up another spoonful of porridge and swallowing it down.

"Hm," went Smolderdash, tapping her spoon against her bowl. "So, when will he be coming here? And will he be sleeping in the guest room?" There were more questions she wanted to ask, but she figured that they had an entire dinner and evening to answer them.

"Well, you see, that's just the plan that Kiln and her family and I have agreed on. But all this hinges on one factor." She placed her spoon down into her bowl, and leaned forward slightly. "Are you alright with this?"

Smolderdash's eyes widened at the question. Back home, she was never really involved in the major decisions which happened within the household. Dad made all his decisions based around what would keep her safe. Such as vetoing invitations to sleepovers and birthday parties. Mom made decisions centered around convenience, So Grandma asking this sort of question was rather unexpected. "Why do you want to know what I think?" She asked.

"Well," began Grandma, "you are a part of this household. You spend most of your afternoons here, and you frequently sleep over here too. Not to mention, you're also family. It wouldn't be fair for me to make any decisions without consulting you first, especially since you are growing up and maturing. I feel like it is time for you to be involved in the affairs of this house." She reached out across the table, and gently squeezed her hand.

Smolderdash smiled, feeling her heart warm up. "Thanks, Grandma." She tapped her foot, thinking about the best way to phrase her thoughts. "As for allowing him to stay, sure. It would be great to have more free time again. I can finally remake my training schedule too."

Grandma smiled at her, and nodded. "Then it's settled, I'll hire him and he'll be doing most of the cooking and cleaning around here." She shook Smolderdash's hand, and gave her a nod. "I still want you to clean the guest room when you sleep over though. That shall be your responsibility."

"Aww…" Giggled Smolderdash in mock disappointment. "But speaking of which, what about the bed situation when I sleep over?"

"I'm thinking about heading out and buying a new bed for you tomorrow, actually. Or maybe replacing the one we have already, and getting bunk beds," said Grandma, as she stirred her porridge again and scooped up another spoonful.

Smolderdash's eyes lit up at that suggestion. Bunk beds? She always wanted those! She supposed that it was a little childish of her to be so excited over the prospect of something like that, but being an only child with her kind of parents, it was something she never got to experience. "I like the bunk bed idea. But if we do that, I need to get the top bunk."

Grandma swallowed another spoonful of porridge, and chuckled. "Of course. I suppose we could work something out with him."

"Oh by the way, Grandma," said Smolderdash, as she stirred her porridge and scooped up a fresh spoonful. "I can't remember, but what was his name again? I think it should only be courteous of me to know."

"Ah yes, his name." Grandma drummed her finger on the tabletop and hummed as she tried to remember. "Oh, I think it was… wait, I remember! His name is Pyro. I think it would be good of you to remember that."

Smolderdash modded. "Pyro… I'll have to remember that name."

And by the end of the month, they had a new housekeeper by the name of Pyro.

Pyro would open the door for Smolderdash whenever she returned home from school. Without saying a word, he would reach for her heavy backpack and bring it into her room for her. No matter how often she greeted him, saying her 'hello's and 'good afternoon's, he never responded beyond a polite smile or nod. She still continued to greet him, despite the fact that he never responded.

Grandma had talked to her about this before he came. "According to his parents, he has always been like this. Ever since he was a child, he had never once said a single word to any of them. Don't get him wrong, he can still hear perfectly fine. He was an avid reader, and he learned how to write in a flash, but they said that they had never heard him utter a single word in his life."

He had been the first person Smolderdash had ever heard of who was like this. After doing a bit of digging and research, she learned why. Most children who refused to talk were considered bad luck. Many never lived long enough to see their tenth birthdays. To see one, who was not only alive but a whole decade older than her, was indeed a rarity.

"Did they leave the town for his sake?" She asked. Grandma merely shrugged to answer her question.

"It's hard to say. His parents had been rather secretive about this whole thing. And honestly, I don't blame them. In this town, it's usually a good thing to keep these sorts of secrets to ourselves."

Smolderdash chuckled cynically. "Don't I know it." And her deadpan tone coupled with the fact that it was coming out of her young teenage Granddaughter caused Grandma to chuckle alongside her. Despite her years of accumulated wisdom and learned tact, there would always be a place in her heart for dark humour.

"Ah, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. All that matters is if he can do his job well and if we can treat each other kindly." It was a statement which Smolderdash took to heart, so that by the time he arrived at their house, she had already thought about how to accommodate his needs, and had bought a fresh set of pens and a new notebook to communicate with him.

The first few days, he did pretty much nothing but cook and clean. Apparently, when Smolderdash was cleaning the house, she had missed a lot of spots. Those few days, they did not manage to interact much. But after he had scrubbed out most of the accumulated filth she missed, they were finally able to sit down and converse with each other.

"What made you decide to come back here?" Asked Smolderdash in red cursive. Her teachers at school said that her handwriting was sloppy, but Grandma said that it was readable, so they were most likely just trying to give her a hard time.

And she knew she could have just verbally asked him her questions; he wasn't deaf, he could definitely hear her and listen to her. But at the same time, a part of her, a small nagging voice at the back of her head, had a feeling that in the future she would probably like to look back on this notebook and reread all his responses and relive their conversations. It wouldn't be a very fulfilling experience if she could only read one half of the conversation. Besides, doing this writing back and forth thing, it was honestly kind of fun.

He accepted the notebook and the red glitter pen from her, and read her question slowly. After tapping the pen against the notebook for about a minute - Smolderdash assumed that it was some sort of tic he had whenever he was thinking - he scribbled out an answer and handed the book back to Smolderdash.

Receiving the book back with two hands, Smolderdash was floored by how long the response was. He wrote all of that in one sitting, and in rows and rows of the neatest handwriting Smolderdash had ever seen. Every letter was blocky, but in a way which was easy to read. And all letters looked almost the same, as if they were printed via typewriter instead of written out by hand. Every 'a' looked alike, as did the 'b's, 'c's, 'd's, and so on.

"Well, I have my reasons for doing a lot of things," he wrote. "Although, honestly the main reason for my decision to return is because my parents have the most connections here. I would not be the man I am today if it weren't for them, and I will forever be grateful for their help."

Smolderdash bit her lip, slightly jealous. It must have been great, having such loving parents. Parents who would support someone like him through thick and thin, and who would never treat him like a fragile liability, or a thing to be feared. But brushing aside those thoughts, she continued reading.

"Since I love my parents, I also wish to make them proud of me in any way I can. As I unfortunately do not have the ability to contribute to the family business, I have decided to make the most of whatever skills and talents I do have. Those being cooking and cleaning. It's not much, but I believe that as long as I can make a living doing honest work, I would make them proud to call me their son.

"I figured that not only would being my best self - working an honest job and being kind and good towards other people - make my parents proud, but it would also be a way for me to challenge the preconceptions in this village. I feel like I can make a real positive change that way."

Smolderdash looked up at him out of surprise at that last line. Since she had not been reading out loud, the room had been quiet. Which only made it slightly awkward when she caught him picking his nose. She politely cleared her throat, signalling to him that she was finished. And once she managed to get his attention, she grabbed the pen off the floor and wrote her next question. "Have you heard about the superstitions of this town? Is that what you mean by challenging preconceptions?"

She received the notebook back after a short minute, and read his reply. "First off, can I go and get a drink for the two of us while you read this? I've written quite a bit, and I wouldn't want to get bored while you read."

Looking up, she nodded. And Pyro picked himself off the floor and shuffled towards the kitchen. Turning her attention back to the notebook, she continued to read what he had written down in his neat print.

"As for your question, I have heard stories about this town from my parents. Including the strange superstitions. When they first married, my parents agreed that if they ever had children, they would love the child unconditionally. When I was born, they did just that. But as I grew up, I never made a single sound. Growing up, my parents realised that there was something strange about me, and they realised that in order to truly fulfil their promise to each other, to love all of their children unconditionally, they needed to leave this town.

"So my Grandmother helped them find hot-air-balloon tickets to a faraway island. Once they did, they took nothing but me, and a few personal belongings. When we arrived, we slept in a small inn for the first few weeks. I still remember bits and pieces about that inn. The brick walls, the paintings of fruits which decorated the walls, the scratchy grey sofa which I slept on. I also remember being by myself, playing with my toys alone while my parents were busy working by making pots and trying to find a place to sell them. Although other than a few details, I really can't remember much about my life living there.

"But when we finally had a house, and my parents' business was doing well, they finally had more free time to spend with me, and later my new younger siblings. Then, they told us stories about the island which they came from. How some people were considered 'bad luck charms' by the town, and how people treated those 'bad luck charms' by the residents. When I was older, and they could finally stop sugarcoating it, I realised how lucky I was to actually be alive and well."

As if on cue, once she finished reading that part, he walked into the room, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs placed above it. When he set the tray down, she finally got a closer look at them and to her delight, she realised that he had made hot chocolate. Her favourite.

"Thank you," she said, graciously accepting a cup from him. She realised that she had yet to finish reading what he had written, so while she gently blew on her cup to cool it down, she scanned through the last few lines written down.

"I firmly believe that this is how the most powerful people in this town continue to hold more power above people than necessary. These superstitions are all pointless, and there would probably be no negative consequences to allowing us to live. At least, no negative consequences that are not already there. Yet, people keep upholding them. And for what reason? Tradition? Magic? By right, magic should be explainable. Yet, the more research I do, the more I look into magic theory and read up on academic articles by professors of Magic, the more I realise that this town's superstitions are full of baloney. Neither curses nor bad luck charms work the way the people in this town claim they do. So, it looks as if I shall have to find a way to change and open up people's minds."

Smolderdash looked up at Pyro and watched him somehow burn his tongue on a cup of hot chocolate. But despite that, there was a strange, glowing pride within her as she looked at him. Here he was, a person like her. They were both considered bad luck by the village, and yet despite all the odds they have survived to their ages. And even though his dreams were small, those dreams were his dreams, and he was living them out. A part of her felt comforted by that fact. It felt like a fact which she could pull out of the storage in her brain, and instantly she could make her day better just by remembering it.

She grabbed the pen, and wrote something down. "Someday, I want to become a Royal Defender. I know it's probably impossible with the way things are now, but you've inspired me to keep going." Beaming, she handed the notebook back to him, and watched as a smile etched itself onto his face when he read it.

He reached for the pen, and wrote down his response to her. "That sounds like a very admirable goal, and I will be behind you no matter what."

Smolderdash nodded, and took a sip out of her hot chocolate. Feeling happy, proud, and also more satisfied with the way things were than she had ever been in her entire life.

**Ahh, it's finished now! Thank you for sticking with me, I actually had this story written down for ages, but I didn't post it until now. I hope you enjoy it, comments are appreciated, and I will see you all in my next story!**


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